


Silver Ties

by SheenaKazia



Category: Original Work
Genre: Betrayal, Blindfolds, Blindness, Dark Magic, Demons, Dragon Riders, Dragons, F/M, Friendship, Magic, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Near Death Experiences, Possession, Psychological Torture, Self-Harm, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-07-15 08:03:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16058945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheenaKazia/pseuds/SheenaKazia
Summary: Everything starts out impossible that is until you give it a shot.Silver is a dayblind young woman. She gives up everything for the sake of finding her independence and to explore her gifts. through the encouragement of her friends and strangers, she sets out to become a Sky-Knight. dragon riders are the elite soldiers of the kingdom of Del'Ta, the best of the best, Does she have what it takes to fly with the best of them or will she fall short?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An original work if you like it let me know and I might post the whole story here.

“I'm sick of being told of what I'm capable of. And I hate being told who I am supposed to be.” I huffed. I was perched on top of a large boulder, my bare feet digging into the ragged soot-colored stone. The prickly texture of the rock gripped my feet like a thousand tiny ant legs. You know the kind of grip that lets you all but hang upside down from the ceiling. The hem of my dress stuck to the gritty surface of the rock like Velcro.

“I know. We go over this every time we come out here.” Cole replied.  Cole was a long time family friend. We had known each other since we were little children. His hair was a straight cut. Only a few inches long on the top. A soldier’s haircut. The dark locks held a few highlights of sandy gold in them. He was sitting on the forest floor leaning into an old aspen tree. Not that I could see him exactly.

The sunlight filtering through the tree leaves was still too bright for me. It whited everything out and felt like hot needles in my eyes. My curse and the bane of my life. From the time I was a baby my eyes were hypersensitive to light. I am officially considered blind. The light of day was too bright for me to open my eyes. But if the clouds would block the sun and if I were in the deepest shadows of the aspen forest I could see. The layers of buffer between me and the sun weakened the light enough for me to actually see instead of frying my cornea. 

Cole shifted kicking what sounded like a clump of wood with his foot. The forest quieted around us allowing me to continue my rant. “I just hate how everyone treats me like I'm made of glass or something! I'm not breakable.” 

I fumed remembering how my father had thrown a conniption fit over my helping carry in the firewood. Or The vein in his forehead that bust when he heard I had gone for a walk on my own. “I don't need a babysitter at all hours of the day. And the way he talks about me. Like I can't hear him? I'm not helpless. You would think I'm just a burden that does nothing but blunder everything. He won't even give me a chance to prove myself.”

“He's just worried about you” Cole said trying to placate me without ending up a target for my rants. I groaned and hid my face in my hands. 

“He doesn't need to though. I can handle myself just fine.” I growled leaping down from my perch. Not a single leaf cracked under my feet. “I can walk these woods well enough that you are panting to keep up. I have a strong body, good hands, level head. One thing shouldn't cross all that out and make me an invalid.”

Cole let me pace trying to avoid the inferno that was my anger. He had been through enough of my temper tantrums to know when he would only receive the wrath of my unfair verbal lashings. I tossed my hands above my head. “I mean who does he think he is telling me who I can be, or what I am capable of!”

“I don't know it's not like he thinks he's your father or anything” Cole muttered. I turned towards him crossing my arms and giving him the best scowl I could with my eyes closed. Cole didn’t say anything but I imagine he shrugged his shoulders or something. I huffed and turned my back on him.

“Yeah, yeah. I just wish he would expect me to able to do anything.” I grumbled crunching some leaves under my bare foot.  Cole sighed. The leaves ruffled as he lumbered up to his feet. He put his hands on my shoulders. His long fingers easily wrapping all the way around my shoulders as he push down lightly to still my fidgeting. 

“Well, you could always prove him wrong.” Cole offered calmly. I raised a skeptic eyebrow at him. This time I felt him shrug. “The Sky-den guards are looking for new recruits this summer.”

“Did you honestly just suggest that the blind girl become a knight?” I asked turning to face him. He let my shoulders go as I moved away from him. 

“Come on you just said you weren't an invalid.” Cole reminded me. “I mean you pretty much know all the same fighting techniques I do. You can spar on level with me. I think you could do it.”

“I can't see in the daylight” I pointed out. He grabbed at my wrist tugging slightly. I huffed and slid closer to him before turning a complete one eighty and stepping forward. Since his center of gravity was higher and moved over the top of mine the move sent him sprawling to the floor. The systematic crunch of leaves told me he had managed a roll instead of crashing flat out on the grounds. 

“Maybe you can't see in the daylight but you still can handle yourself” Cole said standing up. “and you would be great at night missions. I think you would be a great knight.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. They couldn't possibly want someone who could only see under certain light conditions. But the idea would just shake out of my head like the rest of the nonsense I was subjected to on a daily bases. 

“I don't know” I muttered walking away. “I think you've eaten too many forest berries. Your brain is starting to turn to mush.” 

“ha ha,” He said sarcastically as we headed back home. The dappled sunlight warming my skin as we traveled through. Wordlessly he took my hand as we neared the edge of the forest. Heaven knows my father would have a fit if he saw me walking in the woods without a guide.

“Silver! How many times have you been told not to sneak off on your own!” My father, Alledian, demanded as we walked into view. My father was a big man. Well over six feet and strong. His hands rough from years on the trail working a carriage. My father owned a trading company and with a lot of blood, sweat and tears made himself an honest fortune and married into the aristocracy. 

“Sorry, sir,” Cole answered as we walked toward the big man. “She hates being cooped up and I was heading out for a short walk. I assumed a servant would have told you I had her.”

My father grunted and crossed his arms. “No, they had not you royal brat.” My father growled leaning over Cole. My friend had enough sense to put both hands in a placating manner and step back.

“I'm sorry for the trouble. Next time I'll make sure they inform you.” Cole promised. My father looked him over again before sighing.

“You're the older one aren't you?” He said dropping his arms. “I suppose you're not the one I should worry about being alone with my baby girl.”

“Father, I'm not a-”

“But next time make sure I know before you run off with her. Prince or not I'll kick arse from here to Lou’Kair.” My father spoke right over the top of my complaint. It irked me to no end when he did that. It was like I had no voice or thoughts of my own. 

“Of course sir,” Cole said. Irritated I walked away from both of them. My eyes still closed but I wasn’t about to sit there and listen to them talk about me like some porcelain doll. 

“Silver! Where are you going?” my father demanded. I shrugged but kept going. My feet slid over the mostly even cobblestone road into the streets of my home city. Del’Ta the castle city of Medaira. Cole sprinted to catch up to me. Fairly easy to do when one can't see where they are going.

“Touch me and I'll knock you to the ground,” I warned as he fell in step beside me. My father's heavy footsteps were quickly catching up on us. Cole was probably rolling his eyes at him but, heh, I couldn't see if he was or not. 

“Don't be angry with me. You're the one who snuck out.” Cole reminded me. I glared at him and tried to walk away faster only to be yanked backward by the arm. 

“You need to at least listen before trying to cross the road. You almost got run over.” Cole chastised as the thunderous clap of horse hooves on stone clipped by. Anger and embarrassment heated up my face. I yanked my arm free. 

“I said don't touch me,” I growled. Admittedly I had not been paying attention. I would have walked right out in front of the horse. But that only reminded me I was blind and proved my father's point. 

“Silver, I'm not going to let you hurt yourself,” Cole responded in that ever cool tone of his. I clenched my fists and turned on him. 

“So you think I could join the knights but I can't handle walking down the street on my own?” I demanded. He took a step backward. 

“It's not like that. You're mad and not paying attention. You tend to be carried away by your emotions.” His words did little to calm me if that was what he was aiming for. 

“Sorry for having a little a pride but we can't all just take being a floor mat for everyone.” I snapped. Cole didn’t say anything and I folded my arms. 

“I don't let everyone step on me,” Cole said his tone cold. “You are literally the only one who even dares speak to me this way. Just because I don't jump down everyone's throat the first chance I have doesn't mean I don't have any pride. It means I can control my emotions instead of letting them run away with me.”

I huffed and stepped away from him. This time I listened before crossing the road. Cole's steps sounded behind me. Irritation coaxed my fingers into a fist. 

“Are you still seriously following me?” I demanded. 

“Call it my, apparently nonexistent, pride, but when I call a girl away from home I always walk her back to the door,” Cole growled. I sighed. Cole did not get angry often. Unlike me who lit up like a firework stand, loud and bright.  “Even when said girl is a brat.”

“Okay, Okay. I'm sorry I snapped at you. You were right I was wrong.” I huffed but felt a light hand on my elbow. I let him trace down my arm and take my hand as we walked. 

“Thank you,” Cole said with what sounded like a smile. 

“You still pout like a girl.” I pointed out. He snorted with a chuckle. 

“And you still act like a guy,” Cole replied. I giggled and rolled my closed eyes.

We both looked over our shoulders when we heard my father coming up behind us. Cole chuckled at my pretty much useless reaction. He yelped when my fingers clenched around his with the intent to break them.

“What is your problem? You can't just wander off on your own.” My father demanded as soon as he caught up with us. I clenched my teeth. If I could hate those words any more than I already did I would burst into flames. The kind of flames that burn so hot the water turns into steam before it even touches the fire. 

Cole squeezed my hand trying to help me keep my temper under control. Maybe it does help. Maybe having an extra hand to hold down my useless but beast-like anger was more needed than I would like to admit. Cole was the first one to address my father. He was trying to give me more time to calm down.

“Sorry, sir. She just doesn't like it when we talk over the top of her.” He said as though he too had talked over me. Ever the peace-seeking pacifist.

“That's no excuse for recklessness! She could have been hurt.” My father retorted with a huff. “She's blind she can't just walk around without a guide.”

“I think you underestimate what she can handle.” Cole tried to be diplomatic but my father was far from understanding. 

“Do not try to act like you know my daughter better than me. You may be the prince but you have no place in my family’s life.” My father growled. I felt his hands on my shoulders roughly pulling me away from Cole. “You don't know the struggles we have been through to keep Silver healthy and happy.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that I did sir. I meant no disrespect.” Cole said softly. I sighed and dropped his hand. 

“Why don't we say goodbye here and my father can walk me back home?” I said, stepping closer to my father. Cole’s disappointment at the suggestion was a physical texture in the air. We had been friends since we were both children. Both rejects. I was blind. Cole was a different case. 

He was the oldest son of our king. But his brother, well half brother, was born just hours after him. Kessler was Cole’s younger brother. He was born from a tryst their father had with a governess of Tal’Lok. The two brothers couldn't be more different from each other. If there weren’t some shared physical features there was no way anyone could believe they were related. Cole was slender, pale skinned with green eyes. And introverted. 

Kessler was a people charmer, dark-skinned chocolate brown eyes and broad shoulders. Kessler carried the powerful bone structure from the fishermen life of his mother's people. He could fill the entire courtyard with his presence alone. 

Kessler was by far more liked by the public than Cole, despite his controversial background. He was just the kind of person you had to put a lot of effort forward to find a reason to hate him. Not that I had not put forth the energy to find a couple of reasons to hate him. On the contrary, I had quite a few. 

Mostly they involved the rivalry between Kessler and Cole. Just Kessler walking in a room was enough to visibly deflate Cole's confidence. I also hated how he loved to show his physical abilities. He was stronger than Cole but he also had the tack of a bull in a glass shop.

Cole, on the other hand, could catch a bubble in his hands so gently it wouldn't burst. Cole thought things through before reacting. He made decisions based on logic and reasoning. Kessler just went with the first idea that popped in his head. Lastly, I hated that Kessler treated me exactly as my father wanted him to. Like I was some breakable porcelain doll.

I waved in Cole's direction as my father escorted me back towards our home. He was silent. The only thing telling me he was there was the pressure of his hands on my back. Because blind little me couldn't handle walking on my own. Right. 

 

The next day found me and my younger sister walking through the stalls of the Sydria traveling caravan. It was always a fun time when the caravan made its way from the south-east desert to Del’Ta. The air was thick with the scent of exotic spices and food. Around was the metallic jangle of the thick bracelets the women wore and deep drumming of music. My sister held my hand was we made our way through the crowd. You could hardly move without bumping into the person next to you. I like to come here and imagine the colors. Picture the woman in vibrant reds and blues and purples dancing along with the music. I love to imagine what it would be like if I left with them. To picture what it would be like where they lived. My revere was interrupted by my sister's voice. 

“Honestly Sil. I don't know why you come along on these trips.” Kaylee said shaking her head. The noonday sunlight shone down on her corn-gold hair. “You can't look around and you can't help with the trades when you can't even see what you're trading for.”

“Because I like to escape that cage Father calls a home,” I responded dryly. I hated it when these conversations came up. Why did everyone have to remind me I couldn't see? Did they really think I couldn't tell? 

Kaylee was pouting. I couldn't see her doing it but I knew it all the same. An air pushy of self-righteousness made its grand presence known just before she started her rant. Like the calm before a puffed up but harmless storm.

“Silver Fawn Greydawn. How dare you speak about our home that way.” Kaylee chastised using my full name. I leaned against a nearby stall to wait out her tantrum. “Our father worked hard to give us a desirable home and to make sure we had to want for nothing. If you weren't my sister I would have slapped you for that.  Father broke his back and put his blood, sweat, and effort forward so we could have anything we wanted.”

“All the gold in the world couldn't give me what I wanted,” I muttered turning away from her. “All his efforts and all his gold can't buy me better eyes.”

Kaylee paused her rant. I barely had time to hope she was done before she spoke again. “You need to stop blaming Father for that. He didn’t ask for you to be born blind.”

“What?!” I demanded standing and scowling at her with my eyes closed. “I have never blamed him for this.”

“Then why are you always so curt with him.” Kaylee shot back. I gripped the front of her shirt and yanked over to me. She yelped in surprise at my sudden move.

“Because he treats me like I'm completely helpless,” I explained almost ready to start screaming at her. It was a quite a feat that I had managed a reasonable volume at all. 

“Because he's realistic about what you can handle?” Her words were the last straw. A sharp slap across her cheek had both of us frozen. My fingers tingled with a slight burn as Kaylee slowly brought a hand to her face. “S-Silver?”

“I'm not helpless. I don't need to be cared for every waking minute of the day. I hate it.” I growled. Guilt was trying to grab me. I had hit my little sister, but the frustration trumped any regret I felt in that moment. “I don't want or need you guys to watch my every movement. It's just annoying and infuriating.”

She didn’t respond so after a moment I turned and stormed off, hoping to lose her in the bustle of the crowd around us. The loud clatter of chatting people was all I could hear. I caught more than a few elbows with my blind stumbling and walked into a few people. I didn’t have this place memorized and there were too many people around. Oh, the joys of not being able to see where one is going. 

“Young lady, are you alright?” A woman asked as I stumbled into her. She had a steady voice with an accent thick and sweet as honey. She put a hand on my shoulder bringing me to a stop. If I had to guess her height based off her voice and the feel of her hand, I would have guessed she was tall. Five foot ten inches maybe even an even six foot.

“Yes, I'm fine. Thank you.” My voice a little sharper than I meant it to be. She chuckled. The kind of chuckle a mother give a particularly petulant toddler. I tried to crack my eyes open to catch a glimpse of this woman, but all I saw was bright white. I winced and shut my eyes again. Nope, way too bright to see anything. 

“Are you sure?” The woman asked pushing me closer to what I was assuming was a stall. 

“My eyes are sensitive and it’s too bright. But I'm fine.” I tried to assure her. 

“Too bright?” The woman echoed for a moment before removing her hand from my shoulder. “Oh, I have just the thing to help you. Sit still.”

“You can't fi-” I cut off as she wrapped something around my eyes. It was light and soft, some sort of fabric. She tied a knot at the back of my head and stepped forward again. 

“Please try. See if it is still too bright.” She prompted. I sighed but decided to humor the woman. I slowly opened my eyes and felt my heart stop. I could see tight thin black lines going horizontally and vertically making a grid but also through the grid I could  _ see.  _

Everything was dimmed and stained a greyish color but I could see. I could see the crowds of dark-skinned desert merchants and the mixing pot of colors that made up Del’Ta’s population. I could see the white marbled walls of the church across the street. I turned to the woman awestruck. If must have shown because she started laughing. 

“It's a Sydawn. We wear it in the desert when the sun reflects to brightly off the sand.” She explained. I had been right She was close to six foot. She towered over my 5’ 7”. A fact I could now verify with my own eyes. In broad daylight. “They aren't even that expensive to ma-”

“How much?”


	2. Chapter 2

Sunlight dappled down through the trees of the courtyard. Never had I ever realised that the aspen trees in the courtyard were so tall or lined up perfectly in a straight line. A couple guards blinked in surprise as I darted around them. I didn’t come over here often without a certain escort. Actually, I never came here without him. This was his home, but I couldn't wait to show him.

“Cole!” I called out when I noticed two figures walking side by side. The grid of the fabric made it hard to see detail more than fifteen feet away but I knew Cole's voice anywhere. Both figures turned to face me. 

“Silver? What are you doing here?” Cole asked as he walked over to meet me. I smirked, too excited to even try holding a straight face.

“I fixed the vision problem.” I said pulling him straight into a hug. Cole returned the embrace through I could tell he was confused. I pulled back and he tugged the edge of the black Sydawn. The fabric was thick, but kind of silky. Definitely breathable and lightweight.

“Isn’t this just blocking what little vision you do have?” Cole asked and I shook my head. I could have jumped over the moon when he broke into a smile, because I could see if for once. “No way. It actually helps?”

“Yeah it does.” I was all but vibrating with excitement. Cole grabbed me in a bear hug and lifted me off the ground. 

“That's great!” Cole said spinning me around once before putting me on the ground. 

“Brother, you should act more professional in public eyes.” the second figure said walking closer. I sighed as I recognized the second person. Kessler. The dark skinned boy walked over to us looking down at me. I was mildly shocked to realize Cole was close to the same height as Kessler. I had always thought Kessler was taller, but they were both about a head taller than me. 

“Kessler, I swear I will kick your royal butt.” I growled as Cole let go of me. “Just be happy for once, or at least pleasant.”

“Ha ha. You're hilarious, pipsqueak.” Kessler said messing my hair up. I smacked his hand away. “Who riled you up fido?”

“I  _ will  _ bite you.” I warned. Both boys laughed at me. 

“Oh no. I'm terrified.” Kessler said his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“You should be brother. She bites hard.” Cole managed to stifle his laughter enough to speak. I slapped his shoulder before turning to Kessler. 

“So what exactly did I interrupt? Brotherly bonding time?” I asked with a raised brow, not that it was really visible with the Sydawn on. 

“We were actually heading to train. Father wants both of us to go through knight training.” Kessler answered. I smirked. 

“Mind if I tag along? I haven't had the chance to kick your butt for real yet.” I said and Kessler snorted unamused.

“I would pay to see that fight.” Cole said putting a hand on my shoulder. “So let's go before my brother chickens out.”

“She literally half a foot shorter than me.” Kessler scoffed. “I'm not the one who will be chickening out.”

My face split into a grin as we continued forward. I had been Cole’s training partner for the better part of three years. Just for his basic self defense lessons but still, a new opponent sounded amazing. 

“Oh you look excited to get trashed.” Kessler said. We had made our way to an open patch of grass. I paused letting him walk further away. 

“Now won't that be embarrassing when you get owned by a little blind girl?” I taunted relaxing into a basic three quarters stance. My left leg in lead and my hands up at the ready. Kessler was bigger. He would have more reach than me and he could hit harder. So playing defensive and evasion was my starting plan. Let him tire himself out.

“How can you even expect to fight what you can't see?” Kessler demanded dropping into his own fighting stance. 

“Loud as you are it's not hard.” I shot back. “but if you don't believe me why don't you come over here and find out?”

“I really don't think it’s a fair fight.” Kessler said lowering his hands a little. “Cocky as you are. You're blind. I don't want to hurt you.”

“Oh so you are chickening out?” I asked. “You really that scared to get owned by a girl?”

“No, I'm trying to be reasonable.” Kessler growled.

“Sounds like you're scared to me.” I said and he huffed and raised his fists.

“Fine! Ladies first.” Kessler said and I snorted. 

“I believe it's Adam before Eve.” I curled at my fingers at him inviting forward.

“Don't say I didn’t warn you.” Kessler said as he stepped closer. I smirked and stepped sideways, dodging Kessler’s kick. My dodge brought me closer to him. I struck out kicking his back leg and palm striking his throat and elbowing his ribs. Kessler gasped and staggered out of my striking range. 

“Good one.” Kessler admitted before doing a quick set of jabs at me. I side stepped the first one, redirected the second one, but the third landed on my right side. He was getting too close for comfort now. I brought my foot up and kicked him in the stomach pushing him back a few feet.

He made a low kick at my knee that I countered with my shin. The dull throb of bone hitting bone arose from the strike. It wasn't painful really, just enough to be noticeable. I stepped forward with my own kick. I was aiming for the nerve on the bank of the leg just above the knee, but Kessler caught my leg. I was quick to twist and step through his grip bringing the full force of the move down freeing myself. My foot landed behind his so I went for his center, digging my shoulder into his stomach.

He staggered backwards stumbling over my foot but not falling over. I followed his retreat and made another swipe at him, kicking his knee with the bottom part of my shin. Kessler grunted but stepped closer grabbing my hand when I made a jab at him. He kept a hold of my wrist as he stepped behind me, twisting my arm behind my back.

“Oh so you can do more than run your mouth. I'm impressed.” I said slipping my leg between his and shoved my knee into his. His leg buckled dragging us both to the ground. I dug my elbow into him as we fell, forcing him to loosen his grip on my arm. 

“Silver! What are you doing to my girl?!” 

We both shot up and stepped away from each other as my father stormed over to us. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Trust my father to show up right as things were getting interesting. 

“What in the hell is going on here?” My father demanded in a deep voice. Kessler raised an eyebrow and snorted. 

“What does it look like?” Kessler shot back. “We were sparring. You know that thing you do when you don't want to fight someone for real.”

“My daughter is blind” My father growled. Kessler shrugged. 

“So? She's a more capable fighter than most girls I've seen. Of course you did cut our match short. She might have wimped out near the end.” Kessler said not the least bit intimidated by my father.

“You stay away from my daughter.” My father demanded grabbing my shoulder. “You don't know anything about her. I won't have you hurting her. If I catch either of you near her again there will be consequences.”

“Wait! what?” Cole spoke up stepping closer. “You're banning both of us?”

“You didn’t stop this. You're guilty too.” My father growled, pushing me towards the gates. “You stay away from my family.”

“Father please-” I tried to talked but he cut me off.

“No. I'm not arguing on this. We are heading home. You owe Kaylee an apology.” My father said dragging me when I stopped going fast enough for him. I could feel tears pricking in the corners of my eyes. It wasn't fair! I could fight. I could do things on my own. And I sure as hell could make my own friends. I planted my heels and ripped my hand out of my father's grip. 

“No.” I said stepping away from him.

“Silver, cut it out. We're going home.” My father said reaching for me but I stepped back out of reach. 

“No. You're going to  _ your _ home. I'm sick of being treated like some delicate flower. I'm sick of not having any friends because you scare them off the moment they realize I'm not made of glass.” I snapped at him and took another step back. “I'm not going anywhere because you told me to. Not anymore. If I go somewhere it's going to because I want to go there.”

“Silver knock this off.” He reached for me again but I slapped his hand away. 

“You are not listening to me.” I growled stepping away from him. “I'm done. I'm not going home with you. I'm not letting you tell me how to live my life, or what I'm capable of anymore.”

“Oh and where are you planning to stay then?” My father demanded.

“I don't know.” I admitted but started walking the other way. “But anywhere is better than your place.”

I didn't turn to see my father's reaction I just ran. I squeezed through the crowds trying to make sure he couldn't catch up to me. 

“Silver!” His voice boomed behind me but it was fading as the distance between us kept growing. I sprinted into the fish market and dived behind a barrel of angry looking red fish with black spines growing off their faces. A man with dark skin and long salt and pepper beard looked at me from his stall next to my hiding spot. I pressed a finger to my lips pleading for his silence. 

“You a thief?” He asked in a single clipped sentence. I shook my head. The man grunted and went back to scowling at the passing crowd. 

“Silver!” My father yelled shoving anyone who didn’t get out of his way fast enough. I silently prayed the man wouldn't sell me out to my father. “Silver!”

“Oi Big guy” The market man called back getting my father's attention.  _ Shoot, I needed to run.  _ I shifted getting ready to bolt when the man continued speaking. “We all looking for coin but none looking for a headache stop yelling.” 

My father glared at him and walked over to him. “I'm looking for my daughter. She has silver hair, her name is Silver. Have you seen her?”

“No, now go” The man said shooing my father away from his stall. “I deal with customers only. Get.”

My father's cheeks flushed a bright red and I seriously worried that he was going to strangle the old fisherman. The older man didn't look all that intimidated, in fact he looked bored mixed with a slight touch of disapproval. My father opened his mouth but seemed to think better of saying anything more to the man. He stomped off still hunting for me. 

I held my breath until he disappeared from sight. 

“You owe me now." The fisherman said looking down at me. I blinked and looked up at him. 

“What?” I asked standing up. He pointed at my chest and huffed.

“Didn’t sell you out now did I?” The man explained. “You owed me, now.”

“Umm, okay I guess. What do you want?” I asked with mild skepticism in my voice. What did this street vendor think I had worth having. 

“Want someone to handle my post over in Wur’Dale. You just landed the job.” The man said with a shrug. 

“I don't live there.” I said raising a brow at him. Wur’dale was down and across the river tributary, close to where it joined with the ocean. It was a small run down little village that had been on the decline since before I had even been born. Though apparently there were still a few things that came from that little ghost town. 

The man snorted and rolled his eyes. He pointed to the city around us. “Looks like you got nowhere to live here either and Wur’Dale will be the only place cheap enough for your wallet anyway miss runaway.”

“Alright, fair enough.” I agreed. I had no clue what I was going to do for income or housing, but he was right. I probably couldn't afford to stay in Del’Ta. “Any clue where I could stay in Wur’Dale. I have about seventeen gold coins in my pocket?”

“Might know one place.” The man said with a shrug. “Not the best but slightly better than the streets.”

“Okay, last question how do I get there?” I asked leaning against the wall of the neighboring stall. 

“My grandson come soon he can take you there on our boat and show you to Jia. She'll have a place for you to stay.” the man said. 

“Thank you, Mister er" I trailed off realizing I didn't have his name. 

“Chen.” He filled in. I smiled and walked over and shaking his hand.

“Thank Mr. Chen. I appreciate the job.”

 

Mr. Chen’s grandson, Joseph, was a short kid, an inch or two shorter than myself and lanky like a beanpole. He had long black hair he wore pulled back in a ponytail and dark brown eyes. He was friendly though and not nearly as reserved as his grandfather was. He had shamelessly flirted with me the entire trip to Wur’Dale. 

His father had briefly shown me some of what I would be expected to do but tomorrow was my official first day so I wasn’t kept around long. Now I found myself walking with Joseph towards a decrepit building. A faded sign calling it the  _ Dragon's Tail Cafe  _ hung on the outside wall by the door. All the buildings around here were in some state of disrepair. Broken windows, missing siding pieces, and one place was completely missing a door. Joseph seemed unfazed by the haunted appearance of the area.

“This is Jia’s place. She runs the Cafe but she owns a few places she rents out every now and again.” Joseph explained pointing to the cafe.

“I see.” I said eyeing the building with something a little stronger than skepticism. It looked one knock away from falling over. That however didn't stop Joseph from throwing the rickety door open. 

“Aunt Jia, I brought someone to see you.” He said as we stepped inside. The building didn't look much better on the inside. The floor was made of a half rotted and warped dark wood. The walls were covered in faded paint so chipped you could only guess at what the color might have once been. There were several pots of overgrown bamboo around a little counter. 

“Boy, how many have I told you not slam my door.” An older woman with a reedy voice snapped from behind the counter. As we stepped closer to her, I noticed she was short with once black hair now peppered with gray. Her dark brown eyes narrowed on me with a scrutinizing look. “Who is this. Better not be your girlfriend. You're mother will have a fit abo-"

“No. I just met her.” Joseph cut in hands up defensively. “Grandpa just hired her today. She needs a place to stay.”

“Oh Okay, let me see her.” Jia said stepping around the counter. I stood a little straighter as she approached me. Her dark eyes narrowed in on my face. “You a messy child?”

“No ma’am. I can’t see so I like everything to be in its place so I don't trip.” I answered. It wasn't exactly a lie. I couldn't exactly wear the Sydawn all the time, so I wouldn't be able to see sometimes and I did tend keep things organized and clean. 

"Hmm, you’re young. . . How much you got for a down payment?” She asked looking me over. 

“One gold piece and six silver pieces plus a handful of copper coins" I answered calmly. I had a few more gold and silver coins but I wasn’t about to handout all my money without even seeing the place I was renting. Jia looked me over before holding out her hand. 

“Keep the copper and two of the silver coins.” Jia said. I handed her a gold coin and four silver. She snatched them up inspecting them closely before pocketing them and walking towards the door Joseph and I had just entered from. “This way."

The three of us walked out onto the street and down a little side alley. Dead rats and rotten trash lined the gutters and a gut-churning stench of dead fish and mold poisoned the air. I covered my mouth and nose. My eyes were watering from there wretched stench. Jia led us to a small wooden shack with a messy thatch roof. She jiggled the handle and pushed the door open. No key. Great. This place was perfectly safe wasn't it. 

“Inside is a bed, stove and ice chest.” Jia said turning to head away. I blinked and looked at the place. The ruined walls, sunk in roof, and the awful stench were far from welcoming things. I gathered my nerve and stepped inside. A metal pan sat on the floor half full of water. The discolored thatching was a good indication there was a leak in the roof. Hopefully only one but highly unlikely. This place was a far cry from the clean and sanitary home I grew up in and already I missed the open space and sense of purity of my father’s house. I tapped the metal pan with my foot before looking around the little room. There was only two rooms. A main room which held a rusty old wood burning stove, a metal ice chest and a sink taking up the far right wall of the room and the back wall had a paper screen that hid the bed. On the left wall was the doorway into the bathroom. Even from the front door I could see the yellowed stain tiles and water damage. I sighed and closed the door behind me, trapping some of the scent in with me. “Way to go me. Welcome to your new home.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Silver! Careful with that barrel! Don't bruise our catch!” William called at me as he and Joseph grabbed another barrel of fish. It was barely dawn and I was struggling with one of the smaller barrels. I was trying not to look at the gasping animals tossed into the barrels. William refused to kill the fish because their meat couldn't go bad until they died and they could live days to weeks in the barrels with only minimal water. I focused on the task of moving the barrel. The rough metal rings that held the barrels together tore at my hands and I had to have had thirteen wooden slivers in my hands by now. 

The barrel weighed at least sixty pounds and the damp wood made it difficult to hold onto. William and Joseph had moved three barrels over to my stall in the time it took me to move one half way. William sighed and grabbed the barrel from me and placed it with the others. 

“We don't have all day. Me and Joseph need to check the lobster traps today.” He said shoving me towards the decayed pile of wood and nails that was considered my stall. Joseph wiped the sweat off his forehead as he walked over to the two of us. 

“Come on dad give her a break. It’s her first day and I bet she's never done any sort of lifting before.” He said trying to defend me a little. 

“Don't care. She can keep up or drown." William said, turning to address me. “My wife, May, will be here at noon with lunch. You're watching the stall. No giving fish away, doesn't matter the sob story they give you. Doesn't matter their age. No coin, no fish. Got it?”

“Alright, no coin no fish.” I repeated. William looked me up and down and sighed. 

“Try not to get mugged if you still have our money on you.” 

“But if I don't have your money you're fine with it?” I asked with a raised brow. 

“If it doesn't cost me a coin, go for it.” William answered before heading back to the boat.

“Prick.” I hissed as they left. I moved around to the back of stall and opened the lock box with the key William had given me. The box was empty. How was I supposed to give out change? I looked around me again and realized that I probably would not need to. The few people scraping by would barely have the money to buy some fish. I closed the box and sat on an old empty barrel. I looked at the suffocating fish. “Today is going to be a long day isn't it?”

 

Noon rolled around, but no one showed up to buy anything. Just two kids I kept having to chase off because they were trying to steal the fish. The pair was skinny and I mean the kind of skinny where you can see the bones moving under their skin. I felt horrible but I couldn't afford to lose this job. 

“You must be Silver.” A middle age woman said with long black hair. She was short and had pale brown skin. “I'm May. You hungry?”

“Yes, thank you.” I answered, talking a folded bandanna from her. Inside was a sandwich with some kind of fish stuffing. May leaned against the stall and looked me over.

“You came from money.” she said it as a statement not a question. I looked up, surprised at the conversation starter she had picked. “So why are you here? Why turn away from all of that when most people would kill to have it?”

I looked away from her. “Because I was sick of being told what I was capable of. I was sick of being the helpless blind girl. My father refused to see me as anything but breakable so I left.”

“You're still plenty young to be making that decision aren't you?” May asked.

“Maybe, but I already made my choice. I'm not turning back now.” I answered taking a bite of the sandwich. The bread was stale and hard but the fish good, kind of sweet and salty. “You probably think I'm an idiot though, right?”

“A little.” May admitted. I closed my eyes.

“I just want to be allowed to try something, anything, but my father is too scared of me getting hurt. I was pretty much kept in a gilded cage.” I answered . “I had everything I could want materially but... I hated every moment of it.”

“I'm sure your father has reason for his concern.” May said gently. “Parents always worry it's what we do.”

“Well, I'm done letting his worrying stop me from doing anything.” I answered folding my arms. “I'm living my life, my way.”

“Hopefully you don't come to regret it.” May said getting up. “I'll leave you to work now. Good luck, Silver.”

With that I was left on my own. Things were relatively boring between lunch and dusk, only three people showed up and all of them tried to either short me some on coin or steal extra fish.

“Seriously, you're going to try and steal from the blind girl on her first day?” I asked as I watched a man try to hide a fish in his belt. “Or should I just add two copper pieces to your total and you can keep the fish in your britches?”

The man spluttered and pulled the fish out. After the fourth time I caught someone people seemed to stop trying, or were a lot more sneaky about it. I had two or three people show up just as William and Joseph returned. Four large cages full Leviathan Lobsters on board. 

“Hey! We are closed get your fish and get lost!” William called jumping into the dock. He had a long poll with a hook on the end that he used to pull the first cage off the boat.

The customers quickly grabbed their fish, paid and left. One shorter man tried to slip away without paying. I was so sick of it by this point I reached across my ruined counter and grabbed him by the back of shirt. “Either leave three copper pieces or leave the fish but you're not going anywhere with both."

The man handed me back two of the fish and a copper coin before scurrying away. William laughed as the last of the customers left. “Well aren't you just darling. Grade ‘A’ people skills right there.”

“Oh shut it mister ‘get your fish and get lost’ not exactly the most tactful approach either.” I half growled as William walked over. He shrugged and dropped a blue crystal about the size of my hand in each of the barrels before slapping the top of the barrel on and locking them with a padlock.

“Were those frost crystals?” I asked, looking at him as he wrapped a hand around one of the padlocks. 

“Yes, the cold will help keep most the fish through the night. You'll have to find and pull the dead ones out first thing tomorrow morning.” William said, moving to the next lock. The lock he had just left was glowing a faint white. It looked like the same ward my father had placed on his inventory locks to prevent lock picking from working.

“You can use magic?” I asked in shock. Magic wasn't an easy skill to learn. You had to be born with the ability and learning to channel it into anything meaningful took years.

“Yes, now go help Joseph sort the lobsters.” William growled more angry than normal. The edge in his voice had me moving over to the dock pretty quickly. Joseph looked up as I knelt next to him.

“You helping sort?” he asked shocked. “Sorry but it's based on size, how are you going to-"

“Just give me one that is the right size and I'll go off weight.” I said quickly. It was quicker to give an easy lie than try to explain my vision handicap. He nodded and handed me one of the large shellfish. It was easily fifteen pounds and the large black spikes covering its green plating made it difficult to hold. “Whoa, they are big.”

“These are actually smaller than they used to be. Until Nytella started dumping the waste from their factories into the river, they used to get up to twenty-five pounds. Least that's what my grandpa used to say.” Joseph said and passed me a handful of rubber bands. I watched as he grabbed a lobster closest to cage door with heavy looking tongs. He pulled it out and grabbed one of the pincers from behind forcing it closed and wrapping a rubber band around it. “You need to force their pincers closed so you don't lose a finger. They don't have a lot of power opening them but I'm not joking about losing a finger if it gets in their grasp.”

“Fantastic.” I muttered watching him risk his fingers a couple more times before grabbing the other set of tongs.

 

I shuffled back to my little shack, three days of working with the fishermen had my whole body aching and sore. My hands ached from moving multiple barrels into the boat for a voyage to Nytella and Del’Ta. Chen had allowed me to take a burlap sack and fill it with fish and a lobster that were too small to be worth selling. I liked working with Chen, he was strict but kind, the opposite of his son in law. 

William, I decided was impossible to impress. I was always messing something up according to him. I couldn't pull the dead fish out of the barrels fast enough, didn't sell enough, couldn't lift enough. I was going shove him off the dock if I heard him complain one more time. 

The front door groaned as I shoved it open. With the grid of the Sydawn and darkness of the room I didn't notice the two large figures leaning against the back wall of the main room. With a huff I kicked the front door shut. I went over and placed the bag on top of the ice chest. The fish needed to cleaned and gutted before I put them in it. I jumped out of my skin when one of the figures suddenly spoke up. 

“Silver, what are you doing in this awful place?” A familiar deep voice asked with slight disapproval. I turned to face the sound pulling the Sydawn down away from eyes. Without there dark grid I could see exactly who was in my house with me. 

“Kessler, Cole I'm going to kill both of you if you ever sneak into my house again.” I growled as I looked the boys over. “What are you doing in Wur’Dale anyway?”

“We could ask you the same thing.” Kessler spoke again walking over to me. I rolled my eyes and went to the stove. The logs clanked against the metal stove as I in tossed them in, closing my eyes as I started the fire.

“I’m working. You kind of have to do that if you want a roof over your head.” I answered grabbing the dinged up tea kettle Jia had sold me. I filled it with water and placed it on the stove top. “I have jasmine and ginseng tea, which do you guys prefer?”

“Silver, this place isn't safe. Your door doesn't even lock.” Cole said putting a hand on my shoulder. 

“It's what I can afford, plus It’s close to my job.” I answered grabbing the can of jasmine tea off the little shelf above the sink. Cole would like jasmine but I had no clue about Kessler. Actually I had no clue why Kessler was even here. We had barely talked besides trying to get under each other's skin. 

“Silver, why don't you just go home." Kessler cut in. “Your father is looking all over the city for you. This runaway act of yours is childish and dangerous and wasting everybody's time.”

“Childish? That's exactly why I left. I'm sick of being babied. I'm sick of being handed everything because my father thinks I'm made of glass.” I snapped turning on him. “I haven't asked you guys to do anything for me. I haven't asked for a second of your time or an ounce of your help. I'm handling myself fine so don't complain to me about wasting anyone's time or effort. If you think I'm a bother get lost!”

“Why you little-"

“Kessler.” Cole warned stepping between us. The brothers looked at each other before Kessler turned away and learned against the wall giving me a dark glare. 

“Silver, ignore him. You know he's a hothead and not the best at showing his concern.” Cole took my hands as he spoke. His fingers traced the sores on my hands lightly. I saw the concern flash in his eyes before he kept talking. “We have been looking for you since we heard you ran away. We have been worried about you and we wanted to see if we could talk you into coming home.”

“I'm not going back.” I said pulling my hands away but Cole held them a little tighter so I couldn't. 

“And if you won't go back to your father's home, we were hoping you would come with us.” Cole said ignoring my little interjection. “There is plenty of room and my father loves you. You'd be more than welcome to stay with us.”

“Stay with you?” I echoed and blinked in shock before shaking my head. “I couldn't impose on you guys like that.”

“Are you really that dense?” Kessler growled. “You wouldn't be imposing on us. We want you to come with us. We want you safe.”

“Dense?” I asked my tone dropping to ice cold. 

“Silver. Please.” Cole pleaded dragging my attention back to him. “We really do just want to make you’re safe.”

“Well I am just fine where I am.” I said pulling myself away from Cole. The tea kettle start whistling then so I grabbed two cups out of a crate on the floor. I washed them quickly and put the hot water in. I wrapped a few of the tea leaves in filter paper and dropped them in the cups. “Give the tea a few minutes before you drink it. I need to clean my fish before it goes bad.”

“Silver please, won't you come back with us?” Cole was nearly begging. “We just want what's best for you.”

“So did my father.” I said picking up a knife from the dish drainer and pulling a fish out from the bag. The red scales shimmered brightly and tapered into a creamy white underbelly. 

“You realize that just because someone is trying to look out for you doesn't mean that they are trying oppress you right?” Kessler asked sounding exasperated. 

“If that's true I haven't seen it yet.” I answered coldly. “Besides as nice as the offer is I'd rather stay here and earn my keep over bumming things off you two.”

“Silver please ju-" Cole started

“Cole, drink your tea. You aren't changing my mind on this.” I cut him off and gutted my fish. “Just save your breath.”


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later. 

 

“Just get your job done, girl! We don't have time to be waiting for you.” William yelled as I grabbed a third barrel from the dock. My eyebrow twitched as I walked towards him. A blue-green tentacle squirmed along the edge. I didn't even flinch when the slimy limb touched my hand. It was far from the worse thing I had come in contact with working here. 

“Sorry, but I can't just instantly move this thing to wherever you want it.” I snapped as I walked by him. “You will have to deal with my human speed, which by the way isn't any slower than your son’s.”

“She's right dad. This is only my third barrel.” Joseph said dropping a barrel by the stall.

“Joseph stay quiet. This is none your business.” William snapped making the young boy drop his head.

“Whatever. If you want the fish moved so badly why not help instead of just yelling that we aren't fast enough?” I growled under my breath. The barrel made wet slap as I dropped it on the cobblestone next to Joseph.

“What was that?” William snapped.

“Listen better and you might find out next time,” I answered walking over to grab the last barrel. “I have fish to move so I don't have time to repeat myself.”

“Don't you have an attitude with me yo-" William started but cut off as four large shadows darted over us. I snapped my head up to look. The dark fabric over my eyes reduced the creatures to just silhouettes but there was no mistaking what they were. Wide wingspan, long necks, and tails, they could only be one creature. 

“Dragons!” Joseph called as the four dragons circled around so they could land on an empty dock next to us. The dragons wore segmented metal plates that covered their underbellies. I couldn't help myself I stepped a little closer to get a better look. The Sydawn darkened their colors but it looked like there were two green dragons, a red one and a blue one. Soldiers in gargoyle hide armor climbed off the dragons. The stone-like leather was dyed to match rider’s dragon, to camouflage them against their dragons scales. 

“Will! It's been a while.” The man in red armor called as he walked towards us. William met the man halfway. It was the strangest thing in my life to see William act pleasant in any form. The man in armor pulled William into a quick embrace both slapping each other on the back before stepping away. “Man, I miss flying with you.”

“I know, Andrei. I know. I miss it too. How's SpitFire doing?” William answered as he looked over the dragons. The man laughed.

“He's doing fine. Still a baby about getting his feet wet.” the man said pointing to the red dragon. 

_ “Even the hottest fire can be down by water!”  _ The dragon hissed lowering his head. The words weren't words. The dragon had simply hissed but I heard the words in my head. 

“I don't think he appreciates your teasing,” William said with a laugh as the other three riders approached. “Well, what brings you guys this way?”

“A group of bandits is hiding over at the scar. We needed to grab some supplies, figured we stop by and see you while we were around.” Andrei explained. “Plus, I wanted to see how your son was doing. Haven't seen him since he was a little tyke.”

William called Joseph over and the young man eagerly hurried to join the older men talking. I turned my back on them and focused on the dragons. They were massive. My head didn't even clear their shoulders and their limbs were thick and muscular.

“Whoa, they’re gorgeous.” I breathed as the blue one stretched its wings out. The thin blue skin catching the sun and reflecting it with iridescent greens and pink. 

_ “It's rude to stare, child.”  _ The blue dragon said it's voice higher and more feminine than the red dragon. 

“Sorry, I've never been near a dragon before,” I answered looking back down. All four dragons stopped moving for a second. I looked up to see four sets of reptilian eyes looking down at me. 

_ “You understood me?”  _ The blue dragon asked shocked. I nodded slowly.

“Yes, I understand you. Is that unusual?” I replied shifting as one of the green dragons walked closer and sniffed me. Its dark brown horns within my reach. My fingers burned to touch them. I badly wanted to see if they were as smooth as they appeared. 

_ “Very unusual.”  _ The blue dragon said snapping my attention back to her.  _ “Normally only our rider can hear us. Can you hear all of us or just myself?” _

“I understood when the red dragon spoke but I haven't heard the green ones yet,” I answered and the blue dragon looked at the red one. 

_ “Hard to hear one of us if we don't talk, child.”  _ The green dragon closest to me rumbled.

_ “Azure, What do you think it means that she can hear us?”  _ The red dragon asked leaning over me and sniffing me as well. He exhaled with a wave of hot air 

“ _ I'm not sure.”  _ The blue dragon answered. Azure lowered her blue head to look me in the eyes. The golden eyes seemed to pin me down. 

_ “She doesn't seem like a threat to me.”  _ The other green one said. The whole time the dragons had been moving closer to me so I was now in the middle of them. It should have been intimidating but the only thing I felt was something akin to belonging. The dragons meant no harm I could feel it to the center of my bones.

_ “No, she doesn't. Perhaps our queen would like to see her?”  _ Azure wondered to herself.  _ “Child, have you ever considered becoming a rider?” _

“I'm pretty much blind. They wouldn't want someone like myself.” I said almost automatically. The red dragon huffed and looked me over. 

_ “You don't act blind. I think you would do fine,”  _ he growled at me. I blinked unsure how to respond. That was the second time someone suggested I join the Sky-Knights. This time a dragon was telling me to become a rider. But I couldn't possibly, could I?

“Hey, what are you doing over there?!” Andrei yelled noticing me finally. “Don't harass our dragons.”

_ “We are talking don't be rude.”  _ The red dragon growled at his rider before turning back to me.  _ “Child, I will see you again. Sky-Knight training starts in three days, I'll see you then if I have to drag you there myself.” _

“SpitFire, what do you mean you're talking?” Andrei demanded as he and the other riders walked back towards us. 

_ “The girl hears us. All of us.”  _ The red dragon responded. The man stopped and looked me over with quizzical eyes. 

“Is that true?” he demanded looking me over. I nodded mutely. The other three riders looked at each other surprised. “So are you going to listen to SpitFire about joining the Sky-Knights?”

“I ... I guess it's worth a shot.” I answered quietly. I still wasn't sure that a blind girl could make it though. I could only really see things for a short distance with the Sydawn on and if I lost that I was completely blind in the daylight.

“Great. I look forward to training you.” Andrei said as scratched SpitFire’s chin. “Good luck.”

With that, the riders mounted up and took to the skies. The force of the takeoff rocked the dock making me stumble and nearly fall off. I would have if a rough hand hadn't caught me by the top of the arm. 

“What were you talking about?” William asked, letting me go as soon as I was steady on my feet again. I raised an eyebrow at him but answered. 

“They want me to join the Sky-Knights,” I answered looking towards the dragons again. Already they were just black dots in the distance. William snorted and walked away. 

“And why would they want you?” William said slightly mocking. Irritation pricked at my chest. Yes, the riders and their dragons had wanted me to join. What did William know anyway?

“Because I could hear their dragons when they spoke.” I snapped. William stopped walking and turned to face me. 

“That's impossible. Only a rider can hear their dragon and only their own dragon.” William said glaring at me. 

“Well, I could hear all of them.” I snapped. “And they seemed to think it was worth looking into.”

William turned bright red and stomped off muttering darkly under his breath. Joseph walked over to me as his father started throwing the last few things on the boat. 

“Sorry, he probably is a little bitter is all,” Joseph explained in a low voice. “My dad used to be a dragon rider but after a bad run-in with a Tunnel Lurker, his dragon was killed. Mom says it's been hard on him.”

“He was a rider?” I asked shocked. It made sense though. It explained why he knew magic and was such close friends with the riders. It also explained why Joseph always wore good clothes despite being a poor fisherman's son. William probably made a lot of money as a rider, maybe even received a penchant now.

“Yeah, he used to have a red dragon. His name was Scorch. I only vaguely remember him. I was only three when he died.” Joseph said looking down. 

“Joseph get over here!” William yelled. I waved goodbye as my friend ran over to his father. I turned and walked over to the stall and sat on my barrel. My mind was running a hundred miles an hour. I was actually going to try and join the Sky-Knights. I was going to try and become a dragon rider. After today I had to become one. I didn't care what I had to do. I needed to work with dragons from now on. 


	5. Chapter 5

My little shack was full of the scent of cilantro and frying fish. I had a small pot on the stove full of rice and boiling water. It wasn't much but I was making do with what I had. The lights were out except for the firelight escaping the bottom of the stove. It cast the room in a faint orange light. It was weak enough that I didn't need to wear my Sydawn. I was cutting up an apple and looking out the window at the stars.

Today's encounter with the dragon riders was still running in my head. I would need to talk to Chen. I knew trainees were required to stay at the barracks during training. So I wouldn't be able to work then, but I was pretty sure I could have a benefactor receive payment for while I was in training. Hopefully, Chen would help me out and give payments to Jia so I would have somewhere to stay if I failed out of training. Which all things considered, still seemed more likely than not. 

I turned the fish over to make sure it was cooked all the way through before flipping it onto a plate. Next, I drained the water out of the rice and poured the leftover juices from the fish pan onto it. Jia said it would give the rice some flavor in lack of other options. I hoped she wasn't messing with me. With the rice plated up next to the fish, dinner was now ready. 

_ Knock knock knock.  _

“Who's there!” I demanded grabbing my knife and heading towards the door. Who could visiting me this late at night? I didn't expect a good answer.

“It's Joseph.” 

I sighed recognizing the voice. I pulled my door open to see my short friend hunched over and characteristic smile missing.

“What's wrong? Why are you coming here so late?” I asked slightly panicked. “Did something happen?”

“Not really. Mind if I come in?” Joseph asked. I nodded and stepped aside. He shuffled in and looked around the room. 

“Oh, were you about to go to bed?” Joseph asked. I shook my head. 

“No, I was about to eat dinner. If you want to wait a minute I can make you some.” I answered walking back to the stove. Joseph followed more slowly. 

“That would be nice. I haven't eaten since noon.” He said before pausing. “Mind if I turn a light on? I can't see two feet in front of me?”

“Oh, umm, sure. Let me grab my Sydawn first.” I said pulling the black fabric down from the curtain rod. It was wet. Right, I had washed it tonight. I sighed and tossed it back on the rod. There was no way I was going to risk stretching the fabric of the Sydawn by wearing it wet. I would just have to deal without it. “Never mind you’re good.”

“Why do you wear that thing anyway?” Joseph asked as he struck a match and lit the lantern hanging in the center of the shack. I closed my eyes with a heavy breath. I wouldn't be able to cook blind. I didn't have everything memorized in here. I normally could just keep the lights off when I was home. No need to memorize everything now, right? Wrong! Of course, that had to come around and bite me in the rear.

“My eyes are hypersensitive to light,” I answered. “So direct light hurts. The sydawn dampens the light to manageable levels.”

“So wait does the lamp bother you?” Joseph asked. 

“Not unless I open my eyes. So don't worry about it.” I answered bringing the plate of fish and rice I had just cooked over to Joseph. “Here’s what I have for dinner.”

“Thanks, but what about you?” Joseph asked. I shrugged. 

“It's okay, just eat. I'm lazy and just put the pans in to soak. I'll cook again later.” I answered as we sat down on the wooden crates that I used for chairs. 

“Silver, why do you stay in this place?” Joseph asked with slight scraping sounds as he picked at the fish with his fork.

“What?” I asked wishing I could see his face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean look at this place. You're literally one step away from living on the streets. Why don't you go back home?”

“Because this is the place I can afford and I refuse to go home and be the fragile little blind girl again,” I said my voice growing cold. I was getting sick of everyone telling me I should go back home. Nothing my father had was worth being treated like an invalid again. 

“Hey, don't get mad at me. I was just wondering. Overheard my parents talking about you and just wanted to ask.” Joseph said sounding startled. I huffed and crossed my arms. 

“So what brings you here at this hour anyway?” I demanded. 

“I snuck out and didn't know where else to go,” Joseph admitted. I almost blinked in the shock but the sharp lantern light turned it more into a wince. 

“You snuck out?” I repeated stunned. “Why would you do something like that?”

“I got in a fight with my dad,” he answered and started tapping his foot against the side of the crate as he continued. “I want to try and become a sky-knight and he said he wouldn't let me. It's not fair. I know I can handle it. He won't even let me try. So I ran away.”

“Umm,” I looked over him with an awkward expression.

“What? What’s with that look?” Joseph asked. 

“I think running off was a bad idea,” I answered. “Your father probably had good reasons for not wanting you to join the Sky-Knights.”

“That's a load of bull.” Joseph snapped. I sighed.

“Fine, your grandfather did me a huge favor by hiring me and helping me find a place. I don't want to throw that back in his face by helping you disobey your father. Plus William already makes my life miserable I don't need to be giving any ammo to use against me." I crossed my arms and glared in his direction. “Besides your father needs you here. Do you really think he can handle this fishing operation entirely on his own?”

“But if I make it through training we will make more money in a week than we do in four months now,” Joseph said raising his voice a little.

“Yeah and if you fail out?” I countered. “Then what are you going to do?”

“I won't fail out!” Joseph snapped.

“Have you ever been in a fight before?” I asked as he stood. “And I mean with someone who knows what they are doing not some drunken brawl.”

“Oh like the blind girl has,” Joseph growled.

“I have actually. Or at least I've had training.” I said also climbing to my feet. “Listen I'm not going to sit here and argue with you so shut up, eat, then go home. I'm not helping you run away from your parents.”

“You're such a hypocrite.” He growled. I shrugged.

“Sorry, not sorry. I'm not risking my job because of you. If I fail out of training and lose this job I'm out of luck. There's not a lot of people willing to work with a blind girl." I pointed out. “It's called looking out for myself.”

“And what about your friends?” Joseph asked.

“I don't agree with you here. I've worked hard to get the few things here I’m not losing it all so you can take a shot in the dark.” I walked passed him the front door. “Now go home. I'm not your scapegoat.”

“Wow. You're really something aren't you.” Joseph said. 

“Look, I'm not repeating myself. I'm not going to let you drag me into your family problems.” I warned him opening the door. “Home. Now.”

“Fine. I'll leave.” Joseph snapped. The plate clinked as he put it down on the crate and stood up. “Clearly counting on you was a mistake.”

“Yeah, I'm the one taking all the risk.” I snapped. I could feel my temper starting to heat up. “Get Out Of My House.”

He deliberately bumped into me as he walked out the door. I clenched my fists, itching to slug him for that. How could he be so annoying? Why in the world would he think I would risk everything to help him run away from his father? Just because I had run away didn't mean I thought every kid and their dog should do it too.

The wood groaned when the door slammed into the frame. I stomped past the now abandoned plate and blew out the lantern. The little shack seemed a lot more empty now that Joseph had made his departure. Empty in the sense everything was trying to give me space kind of way. The walls were afraid I would destroy them if they came to close. I huffed sat on my cot. Well, there goes the excitement for the night. 

I pulled the covers over my head planning to go to sleep. 

“Silver!” An overly familiar and overly angry voice yelled as my front door slammed open. “Where is he?”

I sighed. Without much hurry, I walked over to see William now standing in my shack. He was fuming like a wild bear. 

“I just kicked Joseph out. Told him to go home.” I said a little peeved he had just barged into my house without my permission. “He wanted me to help him hide from you because he wants to join the Sky-Knights training."

“You kicked him out?” William asked. The skepticism in his voice grated on my nerves. I was not in a good mood anymore. 

“Yeah, I kicked him out. You're my boss, Chen did me a huge a favor by helping get away from my father.” I said folding my arms and glaring at him. “I can't exactly betray Chen’s kindness or undermine you, especially about your son. It doesn't benefit either me or Joseph.”

William looked me over before huffing. “What is the deal with you and your father? He abusive or something?”

“What?! NO.” I shook my head rapidly. “No, My father has never so much as raised a hand against me. He was just too overbearing. I couldn't handle it any longer. I wasn't allowed to walk without someone holding my hand. He wouldn't let me do anything because he was afraid I would get hurt. I left for my own sake, to prove that I could actually be something. He loves me I don't doubt that and I love him but leaving was the only way to prove to either of us that I could handle things on my own.”

William sighed. “Joseph said the same thing earlier.”

“Well, I don't think you're as bad as my father was but give the kid a chance. He's either going to fail and get hurt or he might succeed and if he does don't you think that will be worth it in the long run?” I asked tilting my head. “He is just looking for a chance to have something more in his life. Something more for all of you. Doesn't he at least deserve a chance?”

“Except if he succeeds at this training he will be putting his life on the line every day.” William folded his arms. “I'm not losing anyone else.”

“Joseph is legally old enough to join without your permission. You can't stop him, William.” I pointed out. “You can either stand by him and help where possible or make him stand on his own. And the last option might alienate him from you.”

“You're just a kid, what the hell do you know,” William demanded. 

“Just get out. He's not here. Don't drag me into your family drama.” I snapped turning around. I walked back to bed. William slammed the door on his way out making the whole shack shift. I prayed nothing caved in from it. Why did they both expect me to jump into their problems? I had no reason to take a stand in this issue.

“Two more days," I muttered to myself. I pulled the moth-eaten blanket over my shoulder and looked at the wall. Two days and I would be heading to Sky-Knight training.

 

“Where’s Joseph?” the question popped out of my mouth the moment I arrived to work and saw Chen and William there. I walked over to the two men baffled.

“We don’t know. Go home, there's no work today.” William said turning to face me. “I have to find my son.”

“He didn't go home?” My voice shot up several octaves with surprise. Both men looked at me with raised brows.

“No, he didn't," Chen answered at the same time William said. “So you can act like a popper woman.”

“Haha,” I growled glaring at William.

“Silver, do you know where he went?” Chen asked me. His face solemn. “Please tell me you know where my grandson is.”

I looked at him and shrunk in on myself. He was desperate and worried for Joseph 

“I have no clue.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Joseph!” My called echoed through the trees. My throat hurt from all the yelling I had done the last day and a half. There had been no sign of Joseph. I had been all over Wur’Dale looking for him. No one claimed to have seen him. Where could he have gone? “Joseph come out! This isn't funny!” 

The woods around me were silent. The leaves and grasses devoured the sounds like they did sunlight. I sucked in a deep breath and ran further into the woods calling out every few feet. “Joseph! You had better come out right now! If I have to find you I'm going to kill you!”

I felt a chill run down my spine as I wandered deeper into the woods. The trees twisted together. The canopy of branches mixed together so thickly it was hard to tell which tree any single branch belonged to. The only light that made it down through the trees was a dim greenish color. Black mud squished under my worn shoes soaking my feet to the bones.

“Joseph!” I yelled. I somehow doubted he would have gone this far into the woods. It was dangerous out of town. Monsters of every kind stalked the forests. Hippogriphs, Grave walkers, ghouls, kapres, the list could go on forever. I shuddered at the thought. Joseph was a strong kid but I had heard one too many horror stories from my father about his days on the caravan trails to believe just any kid could stand a chance against the fiends of the woods.

“Joseph! Come out now!”

**_“Silver come here"_ ** A hissing voice called back. I froze. My legs locked up beneath me causing me to stumble and fall to waterlogged forest floor. I did not just hear that. There was nothing this far in the woods calling my name. I was just hearing things. I had stayed up too late looking for Joseph last night, that was all.

**_“Silver, come my child.”_ ** The voice called again. I could not move. I was shaking too hard. Fear had me tied to the spot with a thousand little spider threads.  **_“We are waiting for you.”_ **

A pair of glowing red eyes stared at me from the darkness of the trees. I felt myself disconnect from my body once I met that crimson gaze. My mind was filled with a ruthless buzzing, like hornets in a box that had just been shaken. They were swarming around stinging any thought in my head to death. While I was struggling with the hornets in my skull my body was crawling forward. I was being pulled forward by the voice and eyes. 

**_“That's it come here child.”_ ** The voice purred when I was halfway to its shadow. I couldn't stop myself from moving. Someone else was in control of my body. My heart was hammering in my chest. I didn't want to go near this thing! I wanted to scream out for help, but my body wasn't listening to me. 

“Silver!” Another voice yelled followed by shattering glass and a white flash of light that was painful even with the Sydawn on. There was a high pitched screaming. My body sagged to the ground as the unknown force released is hold on me. A tug on the back of my shirt kept me from falling face first in the mud and water. 

“Silver? Hey girl say something?” The voice demanded as I was hauled from the ground. My head spun at the sudden change in altitude. I moaned in pain. My head would shatter any second now. “Silver, please say something.”

This time I recognized the voice. Though it was the first time I had heard any emotion in it other than anger. “Will...iam?” the word came out slurred and quiet. I still couldn't seem to figure out where I fit in my own body after being uprooted by what ever had just happened. 

“That's right, it's me. Its William.” He said and everything blurred out as he started moving. I tensed feeling like I was going to be sick. “Listen Silver, I know you feel horrible right now, but I need you to keep talking. You'll feel better if you do.”

“Then … shut up… and let me...talk.” I tried to growl but it came out as more of a groan. I felt like someone had dunked me in an ice bath and I couldn't escape. I was shaking hard and my heart was hammering in my chest. It hurt to breathe in anything more than a shallow little gasp. “Why is… it so cold?”

“You're going into shock.” William answered. The rocking sensation picked up momentum as he started jogging. “Just keep talking. Why were you out here?”

“Joseph… have to… find him…” I shuddered so hard my teeth clipped against each other. “What was… that… thing?”

“A shadow." William said. I winced as a flash of sunlight made its way through the canopy of leaves. “A malevolent whim of a powerful and dark being."

“It was … calling my… name… I couldn't… stop...myself.” My head was splitting apart. The hornets may have been gone but I could still feel their stingers stuck inside my head. Everything was slowly fading into a blank nothing. 

“Silver? Stay awake, damnit child!” William shouted right in my ear. I think I whimpered but I couldn't remember. William’s voice calling my name was the last I could recall with any clarity. “Silver! Sil…”

 

When I came to again, it was quiet. The sound of my pulse beating against my skull was the only sound I could hear. I tried opening my eyes only to regret that instantly. Wherever I was, it was by an open window and I wasn't wearing my Sydawn. The light had stabbed itself into my eyes with the cruelty of a hot needle.

“Where am I?” I mumbled pushing myself up. I was laying on what felt like a straw mattress. A well worn quilt draped over me. The fabric was sturdy but soft under my fingers. Everything ached in a dull slow pulse. My teeth were throbbing in my mouth. Slowly I placed my feet on the floor. Cold stone greeted the balls of my feet as I dragged them around to sweep away anything I could step on.

Everything swayed when I stood up. The floor literally dropped out from under my feet. The bed creaked when I fell back on it. My hands flew to my mouth. Dizziness had my head spinning and my stomach ready to revolt. I swallowed hard waiting out the worst of it.

My second attempt at standing was more successful. My legs were shaky and weak but didn't give out on me again. I reached out slowly feeling through the endless black. I sighed in relief when my fingers brushed a surface of finished wood. The little grains welcoming against my hands. I leaned into it and started away from the bed. I had no clue if I was leaning on the wall or a wardrobe. After a few steps I figured it was the wall. Progress. Now was I heading towards the exit? I hated playing this game. I couldn't see and was in an unknown room. It could be any shape or size with multiple doors leading to different places. 

My fingers dumped into an uprising piece of wood. A doorframe if I was lucky. I felt along the wood in broader strokes. My efforts were rewarded with the feel of a metal handle. With a silent prayer that I wasn't about to walk into a closet, I opened the door. Closet seemed unlikely once the smell of frying fish hit my nose. 

I kept my hand to the wall as I inched along. The floor was at least tidy, even though it seemed endless. As I walked farther down what I assume was a hall, voices started drifting towards me. A few more steps and I could make out the words.

“Honey I'm worried about her. She's been unconscious for a while now.” a female voice said. I tilted my head that voice was familiar. May? Joseph's mom. 

“I know, May. Shadows are some of the nastiest things you can run into.” William said in a low voice. “But hopefully she'll pull through soon.”

“It's been over two hours.” May said her voice cracking slightly. “And she's been shaking so much. I fear she might fall out of the bed.”

“She seemed better the last time I checked on her. Hopefully she'll wake up soon.” William said before addressing someone else. “Old man, who in the hell is this girl that a shadow is even interested in her?” 

“Silver, eldest daughter of the Greydawn household.” Chen's voice answered.

“Greydawn?!” William spluttered sounding both furious and shocked. “That family is cursed why in the world would you bring one of them here?”

“That's just a myth. Silver has been here a long time, nothing bad happened so far.” Chen said.

“A shadow was stalking her in the woods. It called her by name!” William yelled making me jump. 

“William!” May snapped.

I stepped back only to have my weak legs buckle. I hit the wall trying to catch myself. The low thump echoed through the silence from the other room.

“What was that?” May hissed.

I sighed but called out. “It's just me.”

“Silver! You're awake now.” May said as I staggered forward a little more.

“Umm, yeah, but where am I? I can't see anything." I asked feeling around for some sort of doorway into the room they were in. “Where's my Sydawn?”

“It was dirty, so I washed it.” May answered as one of the two men came over to me. “Do you need it?”

“Bright lights hurt my eyes. It darkens everything so it doesn't.” I explained.

“You need to sit down you look like a newborn fawn with your legs shaking like that.” William said right next to me.

“I'd love to. Where's a chair?” I asked. William put a hand on my shoulder. I moved forward slowly unsure of what was around me.

“You're taking your time with this aren't you?” William huffed next to me.

“I can't see anything at all. I'm in a new place, with no clue what's around, and my legs feel like they are made from jelly. Yes I'm taking my time so I don't end up on the floor.” I hissed.

“I'm surprised you're even standing right now.” William said as we made our way through the room. “It usually takes a few hours for someone to start moving around after a shadow targets them.”

“I have stubbornness issues.” I said nearly losing my balance and having to grip William’s arm in order to stay up right.

“You can say that again.” He muttered supporting my waist until I was stable again.

“Alright turn a little, the chair is to your right.” William said. To his credit, he stayed there till I had sat down. I had expected him to just walk away once he had me near the chair. Apparently he could be a decent person from time to time. 

“So I have a question.” I said placing both my hands on my lap. “Why is my family supposedly cursed?”


	7. Chapter 7

__

“So you heard that.” William sighed. 

“It's nothing but nonsense.” Chen piped up. He sounded cross but I couldn't be certain since I couldn't see him. 

“I would still like to hear it.” I said. My voice was soft. I was tense, nervous even, to hear why William thought my family was cursed. I had never heard anything about a curse.

“You never heard about it?” William asked with skepticism heavy in his voice. I shook my head.

“Well the story I heard was over a thousand years ago when the Black Death was rampaging.” William started.

“What's the Black Death exactly?” I asked tilting my head. “I mean I've heard it was a demon, and that it was a dragon. Which was it?”

“Both. It started out as a black dragon named Raksha. He was, according to legend, an undefeated champion. His scales were harder than the strongest steel. A third of the world was his territory but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted the power of a god.” William explained. “Which started centuries of terror for people of this continent. He slaughtered ten thousand people and collected their souls to create a talisman. He became a god of death. Entire cities were burned to ashes overnight, plagues and famine followed in his trail. The world was dying.

“It's was during this time legends say a man by the name Anthony Greydawn snuck into the beast’s lair and stole the talisman. He used the talisman to defeat the demon and returned to his village. 

“But his family had passed away while he was fighting Raksha. He used the dark talisman to bring his son back to life, but at at a cost. His son became a violent soul with an unstoppable rage, and so did his son’s son and so on down the line. The curse is said to be that oldest member of Greydawn shall always be come a monster.”

“That can't be true. ” my voice more stunned than the disbelieving scoff I had wanted it to be. William laughed.

“Do you know anything about your family history?” He asked. 

“On my mother's half yes, but my father doesn't speak much of his family…” I trailed off.

“That's probably because your grandfather was a notorious outlaw for killing a team of dragon riders.” William explained. “And the rest aren't much better. You're father is the first respectable man out of that family in a long time.”

I shook my head in disbelief. My father had told me he had come from nothing but he had never said anything about crime. He would have mentioned a curse like this. Surely one of the aristocrats would have said something about his family if this was true.

“How does one man kill an entire team of dragon riders on his own.” I asked shaking slightly. 

“Ironically they said he had the wrath to match a demon’s. But no one lived to say for sure.” William answered.

“This is a sick joke. None of that can be real.” I hissed in William’s general direction. I struggled to my feet, anger burning in my veins demanding I do something. “I think you've listened to one too many bar conversations.”

“You're the oldest of the current Greydawn generation aren't you?” William asked. I grabbed the pillow off the chair and chucked it in his direction.

“Stop it! I'm not part of some demon curse! My only curse is being blind!” My voice was approaching a yell. “You're just some cruel bitter old man, why should I listen to you.”

“Silver.” Chen said in a serious and clipped tone. I stilled and turned my face in his direction. “Calm down. It's simply a myth. There has never been any proof of a curse.”

I crossed my arms seething. Everything in the room was quiet for a several minutes before I sighed and spoke in calm voice. “May, where did you put my Sydawn?”

“It’s drying out on the line.” She answered timidly. “I can check if it's finished now.”

“Could you please?” I asked. I wanted out of here. I didn't want to hear about some demon curse that was apparently on my family, that I supposedly inherited. I tapped my foot impatiently as I heard May go out a door.

“Silver what exactly are you doing?” William asked walking closer to me.

“I'm leaving. I don't want to hear anymore of this slander.” I answered bluntly. 

“You can barely stand, are you telling me that you’re planning to stumble home? And what? Hope no pervert notices you?” William asked right in front of me.

“No, I would rather sit here and hear about how I’m cursed.” I said walking  away from him and hitting my shins on a little table. William stuck his hand out and caught me before I fell on the table.

“Silver don't be stupid. Stay put.” William growled. I pulled myself out of his grip doing my best scowl at him with my eyes closed. 

“I'm not stupid, I'm just not staying here.” I hissed at him as a door opened and closed.

“It is dry now.” May said as she walked over towards us.

“Thank you May, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.” I said reaching in the direction of her voice. I felt the soft fabric of the Sydawn on my fingers at the same time William grabbed my wrist. 

“Kid, seriously don't be an idiot. You're in no shape to walk home.” William said. I tried to pull my hand free but couldn't slip out of William’s grip.

“Let me go.” I hissed. 

“Silver.” It was Chen’s voice this time. “William is right, it would be best if you stayed here a little longer. It is a long walk to your place. Stay here tonight and in the morning we can take you to Del’Ta for your training.”

I clenched my teeth together. I didn't want to see his logic but I couldn't deny it either. My legs and back were killing me. Realistically my legs would probably give out before I made it halfway home. “Fine, I'll stay.” I sighed. William released my wrist as soon as I conceded my defeat. 

I tied the Sydawn around my eyes and looked around. I was in a small living room. A small couch, a coffee table, and two small chairs were the only furnishings in the little space. The kitchen connected directly to it with a fireplace on the wall opposite of me. Chen was sitting at the kitchen table and May was standing at the counter. 

“Where’s the room I’ll be using?” I asked. 

“We had you in Joseph’s room. I hope you don't mind.” May said quietly. I felt a lump in my throat. 

“Sorry, I wouldn't have sent him away if I had know he was going to run away like this." I wished I could say something to make her worry less. I was going to kill Joseph the moment I found him for making us all worry like this.  

“It’s not your fault.” Chen said gently. I shrugged. 

“Thank you. I'm glad to hear that you don't blame me.” I said more out of politeness than anything else. I should have let Joseph stay at my place, instead of getting mad and kicking him out.

“Of course not, Silver. We never blamed you.” May said turning to face me.

“Thank you.” I said again. An awkward air filled the room. I started towards the hall, my steps still a little wobbly. “Which room is Joseph’s?”

“The second door on the right.” William said following me. “I'll show you the way.”

I sighed but let him lead me. It was his house after all. The hall wasn't nearly as long when you could see where you were going. The door creaked softly when William opened it. Now that I could see the room, it was impossible not to know it was Joseph’s room. His blue plaid work shirt was thrown in the corner of the room. A pile of lobster bands were placed over on one of the poles of the bed frame, and a small desk in the far wall was covered in paper.

“Dinner will be ready in two hours. Rest until then.” William said before turning and walking away. I ventured over to Joseph's desk. The papers covering the desk were all amateur drawings of dragons. They are far from convincing but still identifiable The four books piled on the far corner of the desk were about the tales from different dragon riders, if the covers were anything to go by.

“He never even mentioned an interest in dragons.” I muttered picking up one of the books. Joseph’s jagged scrawl was all over the margins of the book. “Wish I could read this.” I was half hoping he would have written where he was going to hide out in the book. Not that I knew how to read, given the limited condition of my vision I had never been taught to read printed texts, though I did know braille. A soft thump filled the quiet room when I dropped the book on the desk.

I shuffled over to the bed. Being in Joseph's room, seeing his things all around made his absence even more apparent. It was like I was sitting in a rainstorm and every drop of rain said the same thing as they beat against my skull. 

“He’s gone"

“Your fault"

“He’s gone"

I curled up on top of the blankets and looked at the wall. Where was Joseph? Was he okay? Had that shadow attacked him? My heart was pounding in my chest. It hurt, like my chest was about crack from the heavy pulse. Joseph had to be okay. He just had to.

At some point during my worrying I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I was aware of was William shaking my shoulder. 

“Dinner is ready.” He said as he stepped back. I nodded and stood up. I felt better than I had last time, even if I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes when I ambled into the kitchen.

“How are you feeling, Silver?” May asked as I walked into the kitchen.

“Back to normal, besides being a little tired, but that could just as easily be from staying up late last night.” I admitted around a yawn. 

“Having a hard time sleeping?” May turned to face me. Her brows creased down in concern. 

“Just staying up too late walking around.” I said with a shrug. I was not about to say that I had been up looking for Joseph. She had enough to worry about. 

“Worried about training?” May asked as Chen and William sat down. I nodded and took a seat next to Chen.

“They said being blind shouldn't stop me but I don't know if I believe that.” I said grabbing the chance to move the conversation off Joseph. May nodded and placed a bowl of fried rice on the table.

“I can understand the concern.” She said turning to grab the rest of the food. I had never been so glad to see vegetables in my life. All I could afford was rice, and flour most of the time. Chen's offer to let me take some smaller fish home was the only reason I wasn't solely eating rice.

“Don't worry Silver, you will have a place here no matter what.” Chen promised. “Just focus on your training."

“Thank you. I appreciate the kindness, from all of you.” I said with a smile as I looked around the small room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry an update has taken so long I was stuck and had to redo this chapter.

“I never thought the crowds of Del'Ta would be able to put me on edge,” I said as I and Chen made our way through the throngs of people hurrying through the streets. It was so much louder than I was used to now. Chen had insisted on walking with me to the training post. At first, I had thought he was being ridiculous, but now I was glad for the company.

“Too many people.” Chen agreed with a huff. We worked our way to the north side of the city. I knew the trainees were to meet at the northwestern guard tower. We would be shuffled onto a boat and hauled upstream to the DragonWatch.

“Yeah, It's claustrophobic here,” I muttered. We fell into companionable silence as we left the more crowded market area and made our way into the residential area for common folk. The tower was a black looming silhouette in front of us. I could just make out the coiling shape of a dragon hanging off the side of the tower.

“Silver," Chen said as we drew near the base of the tower. “This is as far as I'll go.” He rumbled. I nodded. Even with the grid of the Sydawn, I could see a group gathered beneath the tower. 

“I have something I want you to take.” He said pulling out an old dagger. The holster was worn and aged. The handle was bare and showed its wear and tear in the scratches and pitted dents in the metal.

“A dagger?” I asked taking the knife out of the sheath. It was heavy, solid iron if I had to guess. Runes were carved into the fat part of the blade. The edges were so dull I doubted it could cut butter.

“It’s Altair’s dagger, the seeker of truth,” Chen said as I returned the metal paperweight back in its sheath. “Should it accept you as its new owner, the blade can cut through anything.”

“Uh-huh. " I said unable to hide my skepticism. Chen made a tsking sound at me.

“Just keep the dagger on you. Never go anywhere without it.” Chen pushing me towards the others. “Now go, or you'll be late.”

“Alright, Alright, I'm off,” I said jogging off to join the others. “See you later, Chen!” I called over my shoulder, but he was already heading back to his boat. I was officially on my own now. Nervousness and anxiety gnawed at me as I approached the group gathered around the tower.

A kid with curly blond hair watched me before yelling loud enough to catch everyone else's attention to. “This is warrior training, not a daycare go home blind girl.”

I gritted my teeth as everyone turned my way. I folded my arms and faced the boy. “Really, then why do I hear a whiny baby boy? I think you better go home, momma probably has a warm bottle for you.”

Everyone started laughing. I gave the blond kid a smug look as I continued forward. 

“He has a point. A blind girl has no place here.” Someone else said. I knew that voice and under any other circumstance I would have been thrilled to hear him, but after the last twenty-four hours, I was ready to kill him.

Joseph was standing behind me. He was perfectly fine. Good, I was about to change that. I started towards him my hands already itching to slug him across the jaw. He glared at me but didn't retreat.

“Boy, do you have any idea how worried we all were about you,” I demanded as I closed the distance between us.

“I thought you only worried about yourse-"

Crack!

He cut short when my fist connected with the left side of his face. To his credit, Joseph didn’t freeze. He tried to throw a punch of his own. I dodged and grabbed his arm threw him forward. It was the first time someone had thrown him and he hit the ground hard. 

“You jerk! I looked all over for you!” I yelled at him. He glared at me and tried to kick my legs. I stepped out of the way and he hopped to his feet.

“Hey, What's going on here?” Kessler demanded and grabbed Joseph by the back of his shirt. he lifted him off the ground with one hand. The color drained out of Joseph's face as he turned and look at Kessler. “Why are you picking a fight with our friend?”

“Silver!” Cole’s voice sounded before Joseph could respond. Cole broke away from the crowd and ran over to us. It’s funny how time could make the crowds I grew up in seem so unnerving but also leave alone familiar traditions. Cole didn't hesitate a second to pull me into a hug. I returned the embrace. A small smile on my lips. 

“Nice to see you to Cole, Kessler,” I said when Cole finally let me go.

“Cole? Kessler? Like the royal sons, Cole and Kessler Barnett?” Joseph squeaked still hanging by his shirt.

“Yes, and you are?” Kessler asked shaking him a little. 

“Joseph Flynn,” Joseph answered at once. He squirmed slightly, intimidated by Kessler even more now that he knew who he was.

“Kessler, you can put him down,” I said enjoying Joseph's suffering after he had worried me so much the last two days. “He was a friend of mine.”

“Was?” Cole asked noticing my use of past tense.

“How do you know this runt?” Kessler asked dropping Joseph. The smallest boy grunted as he as his feet hit the ground. 

“His grandfather hired me so we worked together a lot until he decided to disappear on us,” I said following my arms. 

“Huh, that sounds familiar,” Kessler said turning on me.

“Brother,” Cole warned. 

“What the only way this gets funnier is if he ran off after fighting with his dad,” Kessler said. Joseph and I glared at him.

“This isn't funny,” Joseph growled. Kessler’s eyes went wide for a second before he started laughing full force. 

“He actually did the exact same thing as you. Oh, that's too funny.” Kessler managed between laughs. Cole covered his mouth trying to hide his own laughter. I stepped on Cole's foot. 

“Ow! What's that for?” Cole complained stepping away from me.

“Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't see,” I said with fake innocence in my voice. Cole gave me a withering look but didn't say anything. Joseph looked between the three of us a mix of embarrassment and anger on his face.

“Oi, ouch that's already bruising," Cole said as he saw where I had slugged Joseph in the face. The skin around his left eyes was turning a bluish purple.

“Fair warning kid, the girl hits hard,” Kessler said still chuckling. Joseph huffed and crossed his arms. 

“Really, I couldn't tell,” Joseph replied voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I could hit you again if the first time didn't get that message through your thick skull.” I offered, still angry and petty enough to follow up on that threat. 

Joseph glared at me. “Why didn't you tell me you were friends with the royal family?” he demanded not so subtly trying to change the topic.

“Why didn't you tell me you were planning to run off?” I shot back. Cole sighed and pulled me back into him. His hand covered my mouth, while his other was wrapped around my waist holding me against him. 

“Sorry, ignore her. She has one nasty temper.” Cole said. I contemplated biting his hand while he kept talking. “Why don't we start this over, on the right foot this time?”

“Start over?” Joseph asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah, Pretend this didn't happen,” Cole said and smiled at him. “I'm Cole Barnett, and this is my brother Kessler. I would offer to shake your hand but mine are a little full.” 

“Really?” Joseph’s face had skeptical written all over it. “Also why are you holding her?” there was a hard edge to his voice I didn't recognize.

“She has a tendency to say things she doesn't mean when she is mad. I'm just trying to stop her from doing something she'll regret later.” Cole said a similar edge to his voice. That was unusual Cole usually had a vice grip on his composure. I pulled on his hand. He let it drop before I bit him.

“No wonder you ran away. If everyone else is telling what's best for you.” Joseph said glaring at Cole.

“I actually asked Cole to stop me from running my mouth when I'm mad,” I said folding my arms. “You should be thanking him. I would have beaten you to a pulp if they hadn't intervened.”

“This restart is going wonderfully. Brother, why did you let her open her mouth?” Kessler asked with a chuckle. 

“Because I didn't want to lose my hand,” Cole answered rolling his eyes. Kessler laughed and slapped Joseph on the back.

“Alright, fair enough. Now let's head over to the registration table. I'm sure our friends haven't signed in, yet.” Kessler said pushing Joseph forward. Joseph gave Kessler a dirty look but didn't say anything. I don't know if that was because Kessler was a prince or was a foot taller than him with an extra two hundred pounds. 

“Right, let's head this way.” Cole agreed, releasing all but my hand as he walked towards the tower. Everyone was watching our approach. I could hear several of them muttering about my blindness, and my fight with Joseph and the fact both princes seemed to know me.

“Well, I'm certainly doing a great job at avoiding unwanted attention,” I muttered as a small wooden table came into view. Two warriors in full metal armor were sitting behind the desk.

“If you are here for Sky-Knight training please fill out these fo-" The man on the right side of the table paused as he handed me a couple of sheets of paper. “Are you blind?”

He pulled the papers back and shook his head. “Go home little girl, we don't have time for you to waste with this joke.”

“It's not a waste. I can do just as well as anyone else.” I growled folding my arms.

“I'm sorry to intrude sir, but she's not lying. Silver is perfectly capable of handling the training.” Cole said from beside me. The man looked between the two of us and shook his head.

“I'm not admitting a girl who is blind. If she gets hurt that's my responsibility and I'm not taking that plate of trouble. If she is capable than she can find work somewhere else, somewhere safer.”

“Are you kidding me?” I demanded, slamming my first on the desk. “Look, I met with Andrei and his team a few days ago and they told me to come try this, and you're not even going to let me in?”

“Yeah, I'm sure Commander Andrei met with you and told you to join.” The man said annoyed. “Look, I'm not signing you in, now move so others can sign in.”

“I'm not moving till you give me a chance,” I growled folding my arms. The man stood up and stared me down.

“I said mo-" the rest of his sentence was buried under a deafening roar. 

“Silver, I'm glad you made it,” Andrei called from behind me. Spitfire landed at the base of the tower lowering his crimson shoulders so his rider could climb off. The big man walked to me and clapped me on the shoulder. 

“I was afraid you wouldn't show.” He said and then blinked when he caught a glance at Joseph.

“What in the hell happened to you boy?” Andrei asked. He grabbed Joseph’s chin forcing him to tilt his head. 

“Silver happened,” Joseph growled pulling himself away. Andrei chuckled and looked between the two of us.

“A bit of advice comrade, when someone throws a punch at you, dodge. Only a fool blocks with his face,” he said. I snorted. Joseph folded his arms and glared at me. 

“Don't you have some registration problems you should be worrying about?” Joseph asked. 

“What problem would that be?” Andrei asked turning to face the soldier at the table. The man sat a little straighter.

“She's blind sir. You can't be serious about training her,” he said in shock. 

“Clearly it hasn't affected her aim if my little friend is anything to go by,” Andrei said. He pointed to Joseph's bruised eye as he spoke.

“Sir-” 

“Give me the forms. I'll be her personal mentor. She's a bit of a private investment, anyhow.” Andrei took some forms and turned to me. He paused looking at me.

“What?” I asked thoroughly confused as to what he meant about me being a private investment. 

“How exactly do you fill this thing out if you're blind?” Andrei asked. 

“I'll help her sir,” Cole answered. I smiled thankfully at him. 

“Okay, fill that out and return it to me immediately,” Andrei ordered. 

“Thanks, Cole,” I muttered as he came to stand by me.

“Nothing to thank me for. Now let's make you a knight.” He said grinning.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long I just couldn't get this to work without major edits to chapter 8 so I would reread that before this.

As soon as the boat reached the dock, Andrei ordered everyone to the barracks. I nearly choked when he grabbed me by the back of the shirt.

“This way, the other commanders wanted to see you,” Andrei said walking away. I hurried after him trying to keep him within my short range of vision. Andrei offered me a hand off the gangway but I shook my head.

“I'm fine,” I said making my way down. Three months of working on docks with Joseph and William walking on a moving surface was second nature to me. Plus, after the trouble at the sign-in post, I didn't want to been seen with a guide. I didn't want to be the helpless blind girl. It would just make things harder for me.

“Suit yourself,” Andrei said as he led me into a large gray brick building with small windows, barred with thick rods of steel. The masonry by the doorway was obviously some kind of runes. I would have to see if Cole could teach me how to read these.

The stone was smooth and colder than ice under my finger. I traced the curve over one symbol over seven inches before it joined a cross section of three straight lines.

“They are enchantments. Keeps the dark spirits away from the watch.” Andrei explained, noticing my fascination.

“Wish I could read it,” I admitted looking up at the looming arch. It was over forty feet wide and sixty feet high. The space allowed for a full-sized dragon to easily land if it needed or two to walk comfortably.

“Most can't read it. It's almost a forgotten language and can corrode the mind. It's the price for that type of magic.” Andrei said shaking his head. I nodded.

“Ah, I couldn't tell. I only know braille so…” I said as he took us through the arch into a high vaulted hall. It was massive. The Sydawn blurred out the ceiling so I couldn't make a guess as to how high it was in here.

“I see,” Andrei said.

“Wish I could,” I said. It was an automatic response at this point. My come back to that particular phrase. I had used it my whole life. It wasn't entirely true anymore, but I didn't feel like correcting it.

“Oops, didn't mean anything,” Andrei said though he sounded like he was trying not to laugh.

“Hey did you hear that?” I asked he paused listening for a moment before I whispered. “It's the sound of how offended I am.”

That did it. Andrei's guffaws filled the entire hall. He slapped his knees as he straightened up. “You'll get along great with the people here, but watch who you give that kind of attitude to. Some soldiers don't take kindly to back talk.”

“I would promise to watch my mouth but seems a bit difficult,” I said with a smirk.

“Keep a leash on it so it doesn't run away then.” Andrei offered. I chuckled at him. Not many people were okay making blind jokes with me.

“How could I be so short-sighted?” I asked in false mortification.

“Think you mean no-sighted.” Andrei pointed out. Again not entirely correct but I didn't argue.

“Even though this is a hoot, I'm gonna ask. What did these ‘Others’ want to see me for?” I asked as he led me down a hall that winded down a flight of stairs. The temperature dropped with every step. The air dampened water pooled on the floor. I nearly slipped once but caught my balance on the wall. This hall was annoying. The torches lighting it were spaced far enough apart the Sydawn made everything dark and shadow covered but were no doubt bright enough to fry my eyes if I got to close without my eye protection.

“They want to verify my claim in person. No one has ever been able to hear dragons in general before.” Andrei explained. Ahead of us waited for a door made of dark red wood. The front was adorned with more of the strange symbols from the archway. The symbols were made of tendrils of silver. The metal glittered in the dark.

Andrei knocked on the door. A few seconds later a slit in the door opened. “Identify.” A clipped and high pitched voice demanded.

“FireFall, plus one,” Andrei answered in a serious tone. The slit swiped shut and a few seconds later the door swung open into the room. I followed closely behind Andrei.

The room inside was surprisingly big. Seven faces were waiting for us when we entered. Four humans and three dragons were looking at us, well me actually. There were two men with short buzzed hair and armored. On left was a woman with ink-black hair and magician robes. They all had dragons sitting behind them matching their clothing. The magician was standing beside a dark blue dragon while the men both had green dragons. One dragon was a glowing bright green even in the low lighting the other was a deep forest green.

The fourth person in the room I knew well. I had known him since I was a small child. The dark brown hair was now streaked with gray. His beard clouded the bottom of his face and neck. A simple gold circlet adorned his head in place of a crown. James Barnett. I bowed the moment I saw him. _The king is here? Is this really that big of a deal?_ I wondered to myself.

“Silver, it's nice of you to join us,” James said. His voice was deep and carried a note of authority neither of his sons held. “You may rise, child.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said softly. My entire childhood had been spent playing with Cole in the royal courtyard. Occasionally we would catch a glimpse of the king, but we had never been permitted to go talk with him. He was too busy. So this would be my first time talking to my king in any sort of detail.

“I'll admit I never expected any of this from the little girl who used to play on my lawn,” James said with a soft chuckle. Andrei walked forward so I followed. “Though I've never been able to understand how you know when I'm around without seeing me.”

“Everything falls dead quiet when you are around… And you have an air about you that's impossible not to identify.” I answered honestly.

“Hmm, interesting,” James said stroking his beard thoughtfully. I shifted nervously looking between the riders, their dragons, and the king. I could hear the dragons murmuring to each other.

“This is the child that claims to hear us?” the blue dragon asked. “She's rather plain looking.”

“She doesn't seem like anything special. She’s probably Andrei’s pity case.” the dark green rumbled. “He's probably lying for her sake. Our voice is only heard through the soul tie with our riders.”

Their doubt irked me but worse I hated how they are talking about me like I wasn't in the room, like I wasn't worth the time of day. I spoke to the dragons not realizing the riders had been talking.

“I'll kick his arse if I'm some pity case. I don't need his or anybody else's pity.” I growled looking at the dark green dragon. All three dragons sat up straight in surprise. I folded my arms. “I'm sorry I'm not some flashy bird you guys can put on display in a gilded cage. I came here to fight for my country not to entertain and be a public spectacle.”

“Where did that come from?” the rider closest to me asked but the other two were just gawking at me. It was the woman who spoke first blinking the shock out of her eyes.

“She's cussing out our dragons for talking down on her.” She said quietly before turning to me. “You truly can hear the dragons?”

“No, I just guessed what they are saying,” I said my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Yes, I can hear them, that's why I am here in the first place.”

“You've still got that attitude I see,” James spoke. His tone reprimanding.

“Umm, sorry?” I apologized. My hands tried to strangle each other to distract from the embarrassment.

“Hopefully this training will help to curb that tongue of yours,” James said. “Because you are a fine woman in all other regards.”

I blinked.

“Th-Thanks.” I stuttered awkwardly at the praise.

“Silver, let us be clear.” the magician female spoke up drawing my attention to her.

“Someone with your visual condition is only being admitted on Andrei's recommendation and your unique gift. You will be watched very closely. If you can not perform up to the standards of the rest you will be cut from the training program and sent home.” She said.

“We cannot give you any privileges or special treatment.” The man with the dark green dragon spoke. “Nor will you be offered a second chance. If you fail out there will be no chance for you to enlist again.”

“We cannot afford to waste our time on a lost cause.” The other commander spoke. “Do you understand?”

“Don't mess up. Sounds simple enough to me.” I said shrugging. _I only have one shot at this?_ I thought. Anxiety gnawed at my bones and heart rate sped up. I had to work with dragons.

“Do your best Silver,” James said dismissing me.

 

“Girl you have some steel in you that's for sure,” Andrei said as we trekked back up to the main hallways. I shrugged.

“Just don't have much patience for people when they look down at me,” I answered.

“Really I couldn't tell?” Andrei said with a chuckle. We were almost to the barracks now. The large stone dwelling would be my new home for the next three months. I could already see the other trainees hanging around outside.

“You missed orientation but pretty much just shut up, do what you're told and don't get caught if you sneak out at night,” Andrei said before turning away. “Training starts before first light tomorrow, get some rest.”

With that order, he was gone. Approximately two seconds later I was surrounded. My departure from the group had not gone unnoticed. I ignored the questions and made my way into the barracks. The beds were first come first serve so I was probably going to sleeping on the floor.

“Silver!” Cole shouted and the crowd split to let him through. To my surprise, he looked upset.

“Cole, What's wrong?” I asked pushing a boy out of my way.

“Where have you been?” Cole demanded, grabbing my shoulders. I rolled my eyes beneath the Sydawn as he checked me over.

“I had to be approved by the commanders and king to be allowed into training,” I answered heading for the barracks. Cole fell in step beside me. The door to the barracks was a reddish oak wood. I shoved the door open and looked around. The main room was a large open space filled with four rows of beds. Each bed had a single wooden chest at the foot. It would hold our clothes we came here in plus our train uniforms. No outside items were allowed in, and the chests would be checked regularly.

There were 28 beds in this room. Both sexes would have to share this one room plus the shower room. Yeah, that was going to go over like a lead balloon.

“Hey, Silver over here,” Kessler called. He and Joseph were sitting on a couple of beds in the far right corner. Joseph was holding a cold pack against the bruise on his face. I winced at the ugly shade of purple surrounding his eye.

“We saved you a bed,” Kessler said waving his hand towards the corner most bed. The four beds in the corner were now for the four of us. I sat on the corner most bed. Cole was in the bed to my left, Joseph was sitting on the bed at the foot of mine and Kessler was on the bed next to Joseph.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I said with a slight smile. Kessler shrugged.

“Wow, you can show gratitude. I'm impressed.” Joseph huffed.

“I can black your other eye,” I warned. Joseph grunted and turned his back to me.

“Why are you even sitting with us if you're just going to be mad at me?” I demanded. Joseph didn't answer my question. I groaned in frustration.

“Silver, I have a question for you,” Cole said sitting on my bed. “Why didn't you tell me that you could talk with dragons?”

“I didn't know I could until a few days ago,” I replied. The bed creaked as my weight joined Coles on the ancient frame. “I had never seen a dragon until Andrei stopped by the docks.”

“What do they sound like?” Kessler asked. “When they aren't roaring.”

“The red dragon sounded kind of gravelly but the blue one’s voice was softer.” I bit my trying to think about how to explain the voices more accurately.

“Anyway, you're going to want to change soon. They want us out of our civilian clothes straight away.” Cole warned.  I nodded and headed to the chest. A key hung off a peg to the right. I grabbed it and unlocked it.

“How does your vision work again?” Joseph asked. “Cause you're pretty competent at finding things you supposedly can't see.”

“My eyes are hypersensitive to light. As long as I wear the sydawn I can see things near me just fine.” I growled. “I swear I'm killing the next person who asks me that.”

Kessler laughed. “Wait you're not completely blind what's that li-” he cut off as my pillow collided with his face.

“Really?” I growled. Kessler took my pillow and added it to his laying down on it.

“Sweet now I have two pillows.” Kessler teased.

“Cole how sad would it be if you ended up being an only child?” I asked.  Cole pretended to give it some consideration. He stroked his chin pretending to play with a beard he didn't have.

“Pretty sad I think. Best to keep him around.”

“ugh, of course, you would take his side.” I groaned. The brothers both started laughing. A soft fwoo sounded as Kessler returned fire. My pillow landed solidly in the middle of my face. “I'll use this to suffocate you, tonight,” I grumbled, tucking the pillow on the bed.


End file.
